Standardizing radiation dose reporting in the pediatric cardiac catheterization laboratory-A multicenter study by the CCISC (Congenital Cardiovascular Interventional Study Consortium)

OBJECTIVES We examine normalized air Kerma area product (PKA ) by body weight (PKA /BW) as a reference value of radiation dose and benchmark PKA /BW in pediatric laboratories using a multicenter registry database. BACKGROUND Reduction of radiation dose is an important quality improvement task in pediatric cardiac catheterization laboratories. Physicians need to agree on a standard method of reporting radiation dose that would allow comparisons to be made between operators and institutions. METHODS This was a multicenter observational study of radiation dose in pediatric laboratories. Patient demographic, procedural and radiation data including fluoroscopic time and PKA (µGy m(2) ) were analyzed. PKA /BW was obtained by indexing PKA to body weight. RESULTS A total of 8,267 pediatric catheterization procedures (age